Commercial aircraft typically include a galley in the passenger cabin for in-flight meal preparation for passengers and crew. Conventional galleys may include a retractable pull-down screen to cover the working face of the galley during certain phases of aircraft operation. For example, during boarding of passengers, the pull-down screen may cover various inserts such as a coffeemaker, oven, and freezer occupying the galley working face, and thereby allow the airline to present an aesthetically-pleasing appearance for the boarding passengers.
Unfortunately, such pull-down screens are typically mounted to a decorative header on top of the galley working face necessitating the removal of the pull-down screen to gain access to galley equipment for service or maintenance. In some cases, the galley pull-down screens must also be removed to gain access to galley equipment installed in the cabin ceiling above the galley. The need to remove the galley pull-down screens adds to the turn-around time required to prepare the aircraft for flight. A further drawback associated with galley pull-down screens is that such screens are prone to creasing, tears, and other types of damage over time.
As can be seen, there exists a need in the art for a system and method for temporarily covering the working face of an aircraft galley and which avoids the above-mentioned drawbacks associated with conventional galley pull-down screens.